Thymiamata, Mars: New York Herald Special Correspondent Gideon Spilett, December 11, 1889

The death earlier this year of John Ericsson was greatly lamented in the engineering community, however others have continued his work on the solar boilers used so extensively by the great Ether Flyers. At Thymiamata, through the efforts of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Edison Company has been erected a powerful solar boiler capable of aiding the Martians in their turning their arid planet into an agricultural powerhouse. The reader must imagine a huge conical lamp-shade turned over on to its smaller end, its inner surface lined with nearly 1800 mirrors 2 feet long and 3 inches broad, the whole supported on a light iron framework, and he will have a good idea of the apparatus used by this new solar-powered water pump. The machine is arranged in meridian, that is, at right angles to the path of the sun, which it follows all day long by the agency of clockwork. In the focus of the mirrors is a boiler, 13 feet 6 inches long, coated with black, heat-absorbing substances. This boiler holds over 100 gallons of water, and being fed automatically will raise steam untended all the day through. The steam is led by pipes to an engine working a pump, capable of delivering 1400 gallons per minute. This water, drawn from the aquifer of the Dead Canal to the north of this Martian city, is capable of supplying 3 acres per hour of pumping with an inch of water for every square foot of land. Agricultural specialists believe that this single device will provide sufficient water for the irrigation of an addition 360 acres of land presently good only for desert scrub. If this is true, or even partially true, Thymiamata will soon become the bread basket of the Tossian Empire.

Secretary of State James Blaine received from the Belgian Ambassador to the United States a formal note of protest over the recent sale of U. S. Civil War-era artillery to the government of Thymiamate and possible sales to the Tossian Empire on Mars, calling it “an affront” to all right-thinking European governments. When Secretary Blaine pointedly asked the Ambassador if the protest was from the Belgian government or King Leopold, the Ambassador reluctantly admitted that is was from King Leopold in his capacity of private citizen and not in his capacity as head of the Belgian government. Secretary Blaine then indicated that he was unaware of any Declaration of War between King Leopold and either the Tossian Empire of Mars or the city-state of Thymiamata, which is any case is quite far from the nearest Belgium territory. He further stated that the weapons were not of the newest model, and were sold in the furtherance of U. S. good trade relations with all of the powers on Mars. Secretary Blaine did not indicate what the U. S. had received for the weapons, but it is suspected that Liftwood and Gumme from the Tossian Empire comprised part or most of the payment. Anything beyond a protest from the Belgium monarch is viewed as inconceivable given the limited military and naval power of Belgium.

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Washington, D.C, Capitol News Service: February 7, 1890.

Captain Alfred Mahan, whose recent book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, has caused such a stir in naval circles, called today for the US Navy to build at least 9 fast aerial scouts, for service on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, in order to assist the limited number of US naval vessels and aerial ships in locating and engaging any enemy forces threatening the US.

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London, England: February 7, 1890

The Royal Geographic Society has announced today the discovery of several extraordinarily large “energy crystals” on Mercury which have been brought to Earth for additional study. While not able to produce as much power on Earth as they would on Mercury, it is hoped that careful scientific study will reveal the secret of these crystals so as to provide a power source fueled by the sun.

We here illustrate one of a couple of compound engines designed and constructed by Messrs. Ahrbecker, Son & Hamkens, of Stamford Street, S.E., for Captain Mojaisky, of the Russian Imperial Navy, who intends to use them for aeronautical purposes. The larger of these engines has cylinders 3¾ in. and 7½ in. in diameter and 5 in. stroke, and when making 300 revolutions per minute it develops 20 actual horse power, while its weight is but 105 lbs. The smaller engine--the one illustrated--has cylinders 2½ in. and 5 in. in diameter, and 3½ in. stroke, and weighs 63 lbs., while when making 450 revolutions it develops 10 actual horse power.

The two engines are identical in design, and are constructed of forged steel with the exception of the bearings, connecting-rods, crossheads, slide valves and pumps, which are of phosphor-bronze. The cylinders, with the steam passages, etc., are shaped out of the solid. The standards, as will be seen, are of very light T steel, the crankshafts and pins are hollow, as are also the crosshead bolts and piston rods. The small engine drives a single-acting air pump of the ordinary type by a crank, not shown in the drawing. The condenser is formed of a series of hollow gratings.

Steam is supplied to the two engines by one boiler of the Herreshoff steam generator type, with certain modifications, introduced by the designers, to insure the utmost certainty in working. It is of steel, the outside dimensions being 22 in. in diameter, 25 in. high, and weighs 142 lb. The fuel used is petroleum, and the working pressure 190 lb. per square inch.

The constructors consider the power developed by these engines very moderate, on account of the low piston speed specified in this particular case. In some small and light engines by the same makers the piston speed is as high as 1000 ft. per minute. The engines now illustrated form an interesting example of special designing, and Messrs. Ahrbecker, Son, and Hamkens deserve much credit for the manner in which the work has been turned out, the construction of such light engines involving many practical difficulties,--Engineering.

Note: The article actually appeared in the Scientific American Supplement, No. 286 June 25, 1881. I changed the date to make it a bit more relevant to the timing of the game. The original article may be read here.http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8297/8297-h/8297-h.htm

The Wells Fargo Express Company it pleased to announce the inauguration of its new Aerial Express Service from New York to San Francisco via Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City (Missouri), Houston, Albuquerque, and Los Angeles. Aerial flyers, weather permitting will depart New York and San Francisco on Mondays throughout the year, and arrive on the opposite coast on Saturday. Cabins for twenty 1st class passengers and thirty-two 2nd class passengers are provided, comparable to the finest Pullman accommodations, while sumptuous meals will be prepared and served to tempt the most delicate of appetites. Space for up to 50 tons of cargo is also available for urgent shipments of goods.

Passengers may travel from coast to coast or from points along the route as space is available. Cargo may also be dropped off and collected at the stopping points on the route. Through fares will be $125 for 1st class and $75 for 2nd class. Cargo will be charged at the rate of $1.00 per 100 pounds per 100 miles, or fraction thereof. Inquire at your local Wells Fargo Express office for further details about traveling on one of our new Wells Fargo Aerial Flyers: the Russell, the Majors, the Waddell, and the Fargo.

The West Point Foundry is pleased to announce the newest contract from the US Army for the conversion of 12 of the excellent 3 inch Ordnance muzzle-loading rifles to breech-loading, following the same pattern as the 6 weapons so converted in 1879, which proved quite satisfactory in service. The foundry is also contracted to supply 500 rounds of ammunition of various types for each gun. We at the West Point Foundry are proud to continue the tradition of producing fine weapons initiated by our founders in 1817.

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Richmond, Virginia: February 10, 1980

The Tredegar Iron Works is proud to announce its resumption of its business relationship with John M. Brooke, developer of the fine Brooke Rifle used so widely and effectively by the Southern Forces in the recent unpleasantness. The Iron Works has received an order for eighteen of the excellent double-banded 6.4 inch rifles firing a projectile of 100 pounds in weight. Mounts for the guns are included in the order, along with a supply of 500 projectiles of various types for each gun. The total value of the order is in excess of $175,000, and the company anticipates that this will just be the start of additional orders. The customer purchasing these magnificent weapons is unnamed, however.

Both the West Point Foundry and Tredegar Iron Works were still in operation in 1890, and the Foundry had converted six 3 inch Ordnance rifles from the Civil War to breech-loading in 1879.

The Century Company is pleased to announce that it has received a contract from the Empire of Tossia for a translation of the Century four volume series, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, into Gaaryani, along with J. Thomas Scharf’s excellent work, The History of the Confederate States Navy, and Lieutenant Commander Caspar Goodrich’s Report of the British Naval and Military Operations in Egypt 1882. Mr. Scharf’s book will be translated with his permission, the Century paying him for the privilege of performing the translation. The Empire of Tossia will be sending qualified translators to New York at the Empire’s expense to assist with the translation. The initial print run will be for 100 copies of each work, but the Century anticipates further sales to the Martian market.

Both the Scharf and Goodrich book can be found and downloaded online, while Battles and Leaders is still an extremely valuable source for Civil War historians. It also is a good source of information on Civil War weaponry, as is the Scharf book. The relevance of the Goodrich book to Mars should be pretty obvious.

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-- GM Maxim #2: If the Players have any kind of Ship, deckplans are mandatory. Otherwise, the Players will wander around with vague and contradictory notions of where things are, and Chaos results.